343 Industries has just revealed that their next in game-seasonal events for Halo Infinite will be delayed until March 2023. This update came via their Halo Waypoint site where all things Halo are discussed. However, one of the biggest things that was not initially mentioned in this post has the entire Halo fanbase crying out in anger, and thanks to a developer video as well as IGN, we now know what’s happening. One of the most anticipated features in the coming updates was the Split-Screen/local Co-op Mode that was also promised by the studio before the game was ever announced. Apparently, that mode has not been delayed, instead it’s been completely canceled.

..it turns out Halo Infinite’s split-screen/local co-op mode is actually cancelledhttps://t.co/6aUPyNEMxL pic.twitter.com/6xT8oiwSJz

— Nibel (@Nibellion) September 1, 2022

In the video, 343 Industries explains that the main reason as to why the long awaited feature was canceled in “order shift resources to other priorities” which apparently involved “experiences we’re not quite ready to talk about yet.” While this might not seem like a major issue, especially in today’s video game market with online play, the ability to play with a friend on a couch in a local area network (LAN) has been a longtime staple of the Halo franchise that dates all the way back to the very first title in 2001.

What also makes this situation even worse is that back in 2017, 343 Industries Head Developer Bonnie Ross promised that every single Halo title would have a type of split screen local multiplayer mode. This promise was also reiterated at E3 2019, but fast-forward to today, and that promise has essentially been broken. As you can imagine, the Halo fanbase is in a bit of an outrage over this, some of which as boiled into the Xbox Series X reddit page. It’s also important to note that 343 Industries is still going forward with the planned co-op campaign mode in the upcoming November 8 Winter Update, but the split-screen/local co-op mode is still done for.

This will also be followed with another long time classic feature, Forge, which is set to have its own testing period sometime in the same month. 343 Industries will also add two new maps on the aforementioned November 8 update, as well as a free 30-tier battle pass and a game mode called Covert One Flag. Going even further ahead to their March update, 343 Industries is also planning on implementing new arena and Big Team Battle maps when the third season begins. Other little tidbits from this includes a new equipment piece called a Shroud Screen, reporting tools, a Forge game browser, and even more game modes and events.